Summary:In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

12 Years a Slave is a 2013
British-American historical drama film directed by British filmmaker Steve
McQueen. Written by John Ridley, the screenplay of 12 Years a Slave is based on
an 1853 autobiography of the same name by Solomon Northup. 12 Years a Slave can
best be described as a propaganda film censuring stigmas of racism and slavery in the antebellum United
States. Made in the vein of the Blaxploitation films of the '70s, 12 Years a
Slave is a powerful social commentary that poignantly depicts the heinous, racial
exploitation of the Black people at the hands of their White masters who
atrociously abuse them in more ways than any sane human being can possibly
imagine.

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave

McQueen is known to infuse
his films with a singular sense of realism that inevitably elevates the subject
matter, pushing it to grapple with far more complex motifs than what it seems
set to achieve initially. While his first two films - Hunger (2008) and Shame
(2011) - were more personal and less commercial, his third film, 12 Years a
Slave, even though it has many of McQueen's central elements of despair,
solitude, lust, sadomasochism, etc., is his most accessible film.

Benedict Cumberbatch (left) in 12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave presents
the heart-wrenching tale a free black man from Saratoga Springs, New York who
is deceived, abducted and sold into slavery. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays the part with great
conviction; an Oscar nomination is more or less guaranteed. Ejiofor is greatly
supported by an all-star ensemble cast that includes the likes of Brad Pitt,
Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano, and Paul Giamatti.

Michael Fassbender (right) as Edwin Epps

And while Giamatti,
Dano and others are quite impressive in their respective cameos, it is Fassbender who
steals the show, and if there ever were any performance that merited an Oscar
statuette, it's Fassbender's mesmerizing portrayal of Edwin Epps - a sadistic
cotton planter who prides himself in being a "nigger breaker".
Fassbender plays the challenging part with great aplomb, goes through a gamut
of emotions, matching every ounce of unrestrained brutality with equal degrees
of feebleness and abject vulnerability. Fassbender is easily one of the most talented among the current crop of international actors. Speaking of performances, Lupita Nyong'o deserve a special mention for her exceptional portrayal of Patsey - a young female slave who is repeatedly raped and abused by Epps while working on his plantation.

Lupita Nyong'o (centre) as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave is not an
easy film to watch, especially for those who are repulsed by brutality and
torture. The graphic content of the movie can easily unsettle an uninitiated
moviegoer. The gory and ostentatious manner in which the movie depicts the
brutal slavery practices like flagellation and whipping places it in a very
unique category of exploitation-cum-propaganda films.

A Still from Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave

That being said, 12 Years
a Slave is lifted by McQueen's able direction, powerful performances delivered
by the movie's ensemble cast, a very different kind of a musical arrangement from
Hans Zimmer bolstered by the use of western classical and American folk music,
and Sean Bobbitt's sumptuous cinematography. Slavery may be a matter of past
but human oppression, especially of the weak, in its various forms continues to
plague our world which makes 12 Years a Slave quite relevant even in today's
modern age. Serious viewers just cannot afford to miss it!

Great review Murtaza, I have huge respect for Steve McQueen for the film making skills he possess. Though I will always choose Hunger over 12 years a slave as my favorite McQueen film, but this winning the Best Picture is totally justified. Fassbender as Edwin Epps was breathtakingly evil, glad you gave him an extra mention.. A great review for a great film..

Glad you liked it, Amrit... McQueen's film, more than anything, it's about power and its abuse... no doubt, it's a great film but it's also McQueen's most accessible till date. If it wouldn't have been for Brad Pitt's association, the film wouldn't have manage to get such serious attention and would have suffered the same fate as McQueen's previous films. As to Fassbender, he is one of the most talented actors around... he deserves the coveted statuette more than anyone... and I used to say the same about Matthew McConaughey who finally bagged one.

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Murtaza Ali Khan is an independent film critic / journalist based out of New Delhi, India. He has been writing on cinema for over seven years. He runs the award-winning entertainment blog A Potpourri of Vestiges. He is also the Films Editor at the New York City-based publication Cafe Dissensus and regularly contributes to The Hindu and The Sunday Guardian. He was previously a columnist at Huff Post. He has also contributed to publications like DailyO, Newslaundry, The Quint, Dear Cinema, Desimartini and Jamuura Blog. He regularly appears as a guest panelist on the various television channels and is also associated with radio.